Volunteer

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Below is a reflection written by sponsor Victoria Lloyd after her she, her husband, and their three young children visited NPH Mexico this summer.

In July my husband, my three young children and I spent a week at NPH Mexico. After meeting the Pequenos last fall during their tour in the Boston area, we were eager to see the children again and become more involved in NPH. Having never done anything like this, we went not knowing what to expect, or how our own children, ages 9, 10 and 12, would react to such a different environment. Would they be able to relate to these children whose lives are so different from their own, who don’t speak the same language, and who have experienced such great difficulties and in some cases, tragedy, in their young lives?

After a few hours in the home, we realized we had nothing to worry about. Seeing our own children and the children of NPH play together, without sharing a language, made us realize why we became involved in NPH in the first place. These are kids, just like ours, who want to play, laugh, connect with people who care about them, and just be kids. And that is exactly what NPH does for them. During our week, we saw how hard the caregivers and all of the employees work to provide a safe and loving childhood for these kids. Our job, we quickly realized, was to just reinforce that love and let the children know how blessed we felt to be even a small part of their lives.

During the week we had the opportunity to play with the kids, do arts and crafts with them, and help out in repainting their basketball and volleyball courts. Through all of this I was amazed at how my own children and the Pequenos were able to connect and enjoy each other. It didn’t matter that we don’t speak Spanish, we created bonds with the kids that transcend language. Seeing my own kids and the Pequenos laughing over inside jokes they somehow created together, making up dances together, braiding each other’s hair, playing a spontaneous game of tag, or frisbee, or any other activity that kids do during their summer vacation, made us realize we had done the right thing in going on this trip. Our kids have been asking since our return, “Can we go back there at Christmas instead of doing Christmas?”

We went to the home bearing suitcases full of supplies that our parish donated to the home, and we left with our hearts full of love for the children of NPH. Though it may not be for this Christmas, we know we will definitely be back!